A Scots dad suffering from a deadly blood clot in his lung believes his life was saved by his smart watch. Dougie Harrold was recovering from coronavirus at his home in Kirkliston, West Lothian, in August last year when he began to feel dizzy and breathless.
After the symptoms continued for several hours, the 37-year-old checked the heart rate monitor on his smart device which warned him to urgently seek medical treatment.His partner, Jo, immediately dialled 999 and was told to find a defibrillator to shock the dad-of-one’s heart back into a normal rhythm.They discovered there wasn't one installed close by but Dougie was thankfully able to make it to hospital for emergency treatment for the pulmonary embolism.He said: “I was recovering from Covid and one day I felt a little lightheaded, my heart rate was abnormal and I was out of breath.“I assumed this was due to recovering from Covid, however it lasted for several hours.“My heart rate watch probably saved my life as it encouraged me to seek medical attention urgently.
I had a pulmonary embolism which can be fatal if untreated.”“My partner made the 999 call and she was told to get a defibrillator.
I couldn’t move, and there was my partner who would need to go and find a defibrillator with none close by.“She didn’t want to leave me and I knew if I really needed a defibrillator, I was a goner as she didn’t know how to use it.”After recovering from his ordeal, Dougie launched a fundraising mission to have the life-saving equipment installed in his local Kirkliston community with the help of affordable housing provider Hillcrest Enterprises.He added: “Fortunately, I didn’t need a defibrillator but the experience proved to me the importance of having them located throughout
Read more on dailyrecord.co.uk